This invention relates to a sheet roll cartridge or patrone for accommodating a sensitive sheet which is in a form of roll-type continuous web and is coated with photosensitive material. The invention also relates to a method for loading the sheet roll cartridge to an image recording apparatus.
This type of sheet roll cartridge has been used in an image recording apparatus such as a photographic development apparatus or a microfilm reader printer. The recording apparatus as described above has been designed in such a manner that a photosensitive recording sheet is exposed with light which is reflected from or transmitted through an original, and then the light-exposed photosensitive recording sheet is developed to form an image thereon.
In the recording apparatus, prescribed chemical supplies are demanded for the development of the exposed photosensitive recording sheet, and therefore the development apparatus in the recording apparatus inherently provides complicated construction. In order to eliminate the complicated construction of the development apparatus, there has been recently proposed a photocopier using a photosensitive/pressure-sensitive recording sheet which is coated with photo-curable microcapsules.
More specifically, the photocopying technique of this kind are generally classified into a transfer type method disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,399,209, and a self-contained type method disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,440,846. According to the transfer type recording method, a microcapsule carrying sheet includes a substrate and microcapsules coated thereon. Each of the microcapsules contains a chromogenic material (dye precursor or color former) and a photosensitive material (photo-curable resin). On the other hand, a separate developer sheet includes a substrate and developer material coated thereon. Upon light exposure, curing of the photo-curable resin in the microcapsules occurs in light-exposed areas of the microcapsule layer. When the microcapsule layer and the developer material layer are in pressure contact with each other by means of pressure rollers, the microcapsules at unexposed parts in remaining parts of the microcapsules layer are ruptured. As a result, the chromogenic material flowed from the ruptured microcapsules is reacted with the developer material for forming a visible image on the developer sheet in conformance with an original image.
According to the self-contained type method, an encapsuled chromogenic material and a developer material are co-deposited on one surface of a single substrate as one layer or as two contiguous layers, so that a visible image is provided on the single sheet by the reaction of the chromogenic material with the developer material upon rupture of the non-cured microcapsules.
Therefore, a simplified developing apparatus in the photocopier can be provided if the photosensitive/pressuresensitive recording sheet as described above is used in the photocopier. However, the microcapsules on the photosensitive/pressure-sensitive recording sheet are easily ruptured upon application of external force, and therefore a particualar attention must be drawn to the photosensitive/pressure-sensitive recording sheet when it is intended to be handled. Furthermore, when a cut-type photosensitive/pressure-sensitive recording sheet is used, there are disadvantages in that it is difficult to load the cut sheet to the photocopier, and a recording sheet transferring system in the photocopier must has a complicated construction.
In order to overcome the above disadvantages attendant to the employment of the cut sheet, a roll-type photosensitive/pressure-sensitive recording sheet can be used instead of the cut sheets. However, this roll-type of recording sheet has another disadvantage when it is loaded into the recording apparatus. That is, a leading end portion of the recording sheet must be manually drawn out and is inserted into an exposure portion and a pressure/fixing portion in the recording apparatus, and therefore much labor is needed.